Learning
Styles
What is a learning style?
Ellis (1985)
described a learning style as the more or less consistent way in which a person
perceives, conceptualizes, organizes and recalls information.
Where do learning styles come from?
Your students' learning styles will be influenced by their genetic make-up,
their previous learning experiences, their culture and the society they live
in.
Why
should teachers know about learning styles?
Students
learn better and more quickly if the teaching methods used match their
preferred learning styles.
- As learning improves, so too does self esteem.
This has a further positive effect on learning.
- Students who have become bored with learning may
become interested once again.
- The student-teacher relationship can improve
because the student is more successful and is more interested in learning.
Blackmore (1996) suggested that
one of the first things educators can do to aid the learning process is to
simply be aware that there are diverse learning styles in the student
population:
There are two perceptual
qualities: concrete and abstract.
Concrete: This quality enables you to register
information directly through your five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and
hearing. When you are using your concrete ability, you are dealing with the
obvious, the "here and now." You are not looking for hidden meanings,
or making relationships between ideas or concepts. "It is what it
is."
Abstract: this quality allows you to visualize, to
conceive ideas, to understand or believe that which you cannot actually see.
When you are using your abstract quality, you are using your intuition, your
imagination, and you are looking beyond what is to the more subtle
implications. "It is not always what it seems."
Teach to Students'
Learning Styles
It
is especially important to take your students' learning styles into account
when you are teaching English language learners. This article gives a brief
description of each style and how you can teach to it.
Auditory Learners
Students
with this style will be able to recall what they hear and will prefer oral
instructions. They learn by listening and speaking. These students enjoy
talking and interviewing. They are phonetic readers who enjoy oral reading,
choral reading, and listening to recorded books. They learn best by doing the
the following:
o interviewing,
debating
o participating
on a panel
o giving
oral reports
o participating
in oral discussions of written material
Visual Learners
Visual
learners will be able to recall what they see and will prefer written
instructions. These students are sight readers who enjoy reading silently.
Better yet, present a information to them with a video. They will learn by
observing and enjoy working with the following:
o computer
graphic
o maps,
graphs, charts
o cartoons
o posters
o diagrams
o graphic
organizers
o text
with a lot of pictures
Tactile Learners
Students
with this strength learn best by touching. They understand directions that they
write and will learn best through manipulatives. These students will also
benefit from whole language approaches to reading. They'll learn best by:
o drawing
o playing
board games
o making
dioramas
o making
models
o following
instructions to make something
Kinesthetic Learners
Kinesthetic
learners also learn by touching or manipulating objects. They need to involve
their whole body in learning. Total Physical Response is a good ESL method for
them. They remember material best if they act it out. These students learn best
by:
o playing
games that involve their whole body
o movement
activities
o making
models
o following
instructions to make something
o setting
up experiments
Global Learners
Global
learners are spontaneous and intuitive. They do not like to be bored.
Information needs to be presented in an interesting manner using attractive
materials. Cooperative learning strategies and holistic reading methods work
well with these learners. Global learners learn best through:
o choral
reading
o recorded
books
o story
writing
o computer
programs
o games
o group
activities
Analytic Learners
Analytic
learners plan and organize their work. They focus on details and are logical.
They are phonetic readers and prefer to work individually on activity sheets.
They learn best when:
o information
is presented in sequential steps
o lessons
are structured and teacher-directed
o goals
are clear
o requirements
are spelled out
LEARNING STYLES AND STRATEGIES
1. ACTIVE AND REFLECTIVE
LEARNERS
- Active learners tend to retain and understand
information best by doing something active with it--discussing or applying
it or explaining it to others. Reflective learners prefer to think about
it quietly first.
- "Let's try it out and see how it works"
is an active learner's phrase; "Let's think it through first" is
the reflective learner's response.
- Active learners tend to like group work more than
reflective learners, who prefer working alone.
- Sitting through lectures without getting to do
anything physical but take notes is hard for both learning types, but
particularly hard for active learners.
How can active learners
help themselves?
If you are an active learner in a
class that allows little or no class time for discussion or problem-solving
activities, you should try to compensate for these lacks when you study.
Study in a group in which the
members take turns explaining different topics to each other. You
will always retain information better if you find ways to do something with it.
How can reflective learners
help themselves?
Don't simply read or memorize the
material; stop periodically to review what you have read and to think of
possible questions or applications. You might find it helpful to write short
summaries of readings or class notes in your own words. Doing so may take
extra time but will enable you to retain the material more effectively.
2. SENSING AND INTUITIVE
LEARNERS
- Sensing learners tend to like learning facts,
intuitive learners often prefer discovering possibilities and
relationships.
- Sensors often like solving problems by
well-established methods and dislike complications and surprises;
intuitors like innovation and dislike repetition. Sensors are more likely
than intuitors to resent being tested on material that has not been
explicitly covered in class.
- Sensors tend to be patient with details and good
at memorizing facts and doing hands-on (laboratory) work; intuitors may be
better at grasping new concepts and are often more comfortable than
sensors with abstractions and mathematical formulations.
- Sensors tend to be more practical and careful
than intuitors; intuitors tend to work faster and to be more innovative
than sensors.
- Sensors don't like courses that have no apparent
connection to the real world; intuitors don't like
"plug-and-chug" courses that involve a lot of memorization and
routine calculations.
Everybody is sensing sometimes
and intuitive sometimes.
If you overemphasize intuition,
you may miss important details or make careless mistakes in calculations or
hands-on work; if you overemphasize sensing, you may rely too much on
memorization and familiar methods and not concentrate enough on understanding
and innovative thinking.
How can sensing learners help
themselves?
Sensors remember and understand
information best if they can see how it connects to the real world. If you are
in a class where most of the material is abstract and theoretical, you may have
difficulty.
Ask your Instructor for specific
examples of concepts and procedures, and find out how the concepts apply in
practice.
How can intuitive learners help
themselves?
Ask your instructor for interpretations
or theories that link the facts, or try to find the connections yourself.
You may also be prone to careless
mistakes on test because you are impatient with details and don't like
repetition (as in checking your completed solutions).
Take time to read the entire
question before you start answering and be sure to check your results
3.VISUAL AND VERBAL LEARNERS
Visual learners remember best what
they see--pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films, and
demonstrations.
Verbal learners get more out of
words--written and spoken explanations. Everyone learns more when information
is presented both visually and verbally.
Most people are visual learners,
which means that most students do not get nearly as much as they would if more
visual presentation were used in class. Good learners are capable of processing
information presented either visually or verbally.
How can visual learners help
themselves?
If you are a visual learner, try
to find diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flow charts, or any other
visual representation of course material that is predominantly verbal.
Ask your instructor, consult
reference books, and see if any videotapes or CD-ROM displays of the course
material are available.
Prepare a concept map by listing
key points, enclosing them in boxes or circles, and drawing lines with arrows
between concepts to show connections.
Color-code your notes with a
highlighter so that everything relating to one topic is the same color.
How can verbal learners help
themselves?
Write summaries or outlines of
course material in your own words. Working in groups can be particularly
effective: you gain understanding of material by hearing classmates'
explanations and you learn even more when you do the explaining.
4. SEQUENTIAL AND GLOBAL
LEARNERS
- Sequential learners tend to gain understanding in
linear steps, with each step following logically from the previous one.
Global learners tend to learn in large jumps, absorbing material almost
randomly without seeing connections, and then suddenly "getting
it."
- Sequential learners tend to follow logical
stepwise paths in finding solutions; global learners may be able to solve
complex problems quickly or put things together in novel ways once they
have grasped the big picture, but they may have difficulty explaining how
they did it.
How can sequential learners
help themselves?
Ask the instructor to fill in the
skipped steps, or fill them in yourself by consulting references. When you are
studying, take the time to outline the lecture material for yourself in logical
order.
In the long run doing so will save
you time. You might also try to strengthen your global thinking skills by
relating each new topic you study to things you already know. The more you can
do so, the deeper your understanding of the topic is likely to be.
How can global learners help
themselves?
If
you are a global learner, it can be helpful for you to realize that you need
the big picture of a subject before you can master details.
If
your instructor plunges directly into new topics without bothering to explain
how they relate to what you already know, it can cause problems for you.
There
are steps you can take that may help you get the big picture more rapidly.
Before you begin to study the first section of a chapter in a text, skim
through the entire chapter to get an overview. Doing so may be time-consuming
initially but it may save you from going over and over individual parts later.
Instead
of spending a short time on every subject every night, you might find it more
productive to immerse yourself in individual subjects for large blocks. Try to
relate the subject to things you already know, either by asking the instructor
to help you see connections or by consulting references.
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AUDITORY
LEARNERS
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TACTILE/KINESTHETIC
LEARNERS
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VISUAL LEARNERS
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Encourage
them to explain the material to you, as if they were the tutor.
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Encourage
them to pick up the book as they are reading or talking.
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Let them
take notes during the tutoring session.
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Ask them to read explanations out loud.
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Have
them write while they are reading or talking.
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Use a
blackboard or notepaper for both of you to write questions and answers.
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Ask the
student to make up a song using the subject material. The 'crazier' the
better.
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Encourage
them to walk around the LRC for appropriate books and other resources.
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Encourage
the use of color-coded highlighting.
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Tell the
students they can review audio tapes while they drive.
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Advise
them to sit near the front of their classroom and to take notes. This
will keep the student focused.
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Use
graph paper to help them create charts and diagrams that demonstrate key
points.
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Advise
them that when they are learning new information, state the problem out
loud. Reason through solutions out loud.
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Advise
them to spend extra time in any labs offered.
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Have
them use mnemonics, acronyms, visual chains, and mind maps.
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Ask the
student to say words in syllables.
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Encourage
them to use the computer to reinforce learning using their sense of
touch.
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Advise
them to use the computer to organize materials and to create graphs,
tables, charts, and spreadsheets.
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Refer
them to our study skills videotapes.
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Advise
them to write with their fingers in sand.
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Ask the
student to organize the material.
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Encourage
them to make up and repeat rhymes to remember facts, dates, names, etc.
Make
sure they go over all important facts aloud.
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Have
them write lists repeatedly.
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Use
visual analogies. Use photographs.
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Advise
the student to join or create a study group, or to get a study partner.
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Advise
them to exaggerate lip movements in front of a mirror.
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Use
visual metaphors.
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To learn
a sequence of steps, write them out in sentence form, then read them out
loud.
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Ask them
to stand while they explain something to you.
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When you
ask them to explain something, suggest they do so by writing the
explanation down.
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Ask the
student to use mnemonics and word links.
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Ask them
to use rhythm (beats) to memorize or explain something.
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Ask them
to make flashcards, then use them during the session/s. The act of
writing (the cards) and viewing them doubles their comprehension.
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Involve
the student in a discussion of the material.
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As the
student is explaining something, have the student point to the subject
matter in the book, on the board, etc., while reading it out loud.
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Encourage
them to visualize the scene, formula, words, charts, etc.
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Refer
them to the Study Skills videotapes.
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Ask them
to use gestures when giving explanations.
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Refer
them to the TASC's CD-ROM's or other computer software.
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Advise
them to make models that demonstrate the key concept. (The purpose here
is the act of making the model.)
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Use
illustrations.
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Advise
students to use hands-on experience when possible.
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Refer
them to the Study Skills videotapes.
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Make
flashcards for each step in the procedure. Put the cards in order until
the sequence becomes automatic.
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Use
audio tapes from classes. Play them while they walk or
exercise.
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Ask them
to stretch and move in the chairs.
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Refer
them to the Study Skills videotapes.
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Listed below are the principal
characteristics of the two cognitive styles and the implications of each for L2
learning (Ellis 1993; based on Hawkey: 1982).
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Field independence
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Field dependence
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1. Impersonal orientation
i.e. reliance on internal frame of reference in processing information
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1. Personal
orientation
i.e. reliance on external frame of reference in processing information
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2. Analytic
i.e. perceives a field in terms of its component parts; parts are
distinguished from background
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2. Holistic
i.e. perceives field as a whole; parts are fused with background
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3. Independent
i.e. sense of separate identity
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3. Dependent
i.e. the self view is derived from others
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4. Not so socially aware
i.e. less skilled in interpersonal/social relationships
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4. Socially sensitive
i.e. greater skill in interpersonal/social relationships
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